How much do quality and patient safety managers make in 2026?
Quality and patient safety managers are counted in the BLS medical and health services manager series: OEWS May 2025 gives the SOC 11-9111 national median as $123,860 a year ($59.55 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $73,390 and the top 10% at $224,340. Because the series pools clinic supervisors with hospital executives, a hospital quality manager typically sits between the $94,700 P25 and the median, with system quality directors between the median and the $166,100 P75. The role exists because measurement now carries financial consequence: readmission and hospital-acquired-condition penalties, publicly reported star ratings, accreditation surveys and value-based purchasing all attach money to reportable data, so hospitals fund people who can validate that data, run root cause analyses and drive improvement. Most holders come from a clinical background — nursing, pharmacy or laboratory — and add CPHQ certification. Employment across the series is projected to grow 23.2% through 2034 with roughly 62,100 openings a year. → Full quality and patient safety manager career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $123,860 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Quality and Patient Safety Managers earn a national median $123,860/yr ($59.55/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-9111); the P10 to P90 range is $73,390 to $224,340.
- The SOC 11-9111 series pools department managers with hospital executives, so a quality manager usually sits between the $94,700 P25 and the $123,860 median.
- The role is funded by financial risk: readmission and hospital-acquired-condition penalties, star ratings and value-based purchasing make reportable data worth real money to protect.
- CPHQ certification plus a clinical background is the standard profile, and the step up is to system quality director rather than to a bigger version of the same post.
US Quality and Patient Safety Manager Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do quality and patient safety managers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 11-9111; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 11-9111, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a quality and patient safety manager earn at each career stage?
Quality and safety pay follows scope of reporting accountability and certification. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS medical and health services manager distribution (SOC 11-9111).
By State
Which states pay quality and patient safety managers the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national median for the management series scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. State reporting regimes are the local driver: mandatory adverse-event reporting, public disclosure of infection and outcome data and state-specific licensing surveys vary widely, and jurisdictions with heavier requirements employ more quality staff per hospital and pay for people who have worked inside those systems.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($142,440), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay quality and patient safety managers the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median for the management series scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a quality and patient safety manager’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does quality and patient safety manager pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Quality and Patient Safety Managers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify quality and patient safety manager wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a quality and patient safety manager actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Quality and Patient Safety Manager Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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